This invention relates to machinery for digging ditches or trenches in the earth and in particular to a device which converts a normally stationary machine into a continuous trenching machine. The device comprises an attachment for the bucket of a backhoe which converts the backhoe into a moving trencher, providing a V shaped ditch for installation of piping or conduit or for the creation of fire breaks.
The backhoe is a primarily a ditch digging machine which is conventionally operated by placing the backhoe in one position and digging the ditch to the required depth to the extent that the arm of the backhoe will reach and then moving the machine forward and repeating the process. Various shapes of ditches may be excavated by changing the bucket or the backhoe. With the installation of the present invention the conventional rectangular bucket of a backhoe is converted to a V shaped trenching tool, permitting the backhoe to dig a trench or create a fire break while moving continuously forward and to vary the depth of the trench as it moves along. The same attachment provides the means for filling in the trench after the installation of pipes or conduits in the trench, returning the earth's surface to its original grade.